News

Expert says British cattle may never be free from BSE

BRITISH cattle may never be free of BSE, despite strict controls on animal feed introduced seven years ago, according to a leading expert on the human form of the disease.

Professor James Ironside, director of the Edinburgh-based CJD surveillance unit, said there were still concerns the disease could be passed on through the maternal line to young calves.

He warned that there was a need for continued surveillance to ensure that BSE does not enter the food chain as animals born to infected mothers could have the disease.

There have been 54 recorded cases of infected cattle born after the 1996 ban was imposed on meat and bone meal being used in cattle feed. Scientists are still unsure of the causes as each outbreak occurred on different farms spanning more than 25 counties.

Although infection via contaminated feed imported from Europe is the most likely explanation, transmission to calves by